6. Japanese Style Stir Fried Udon With Seafood, Soya Sauce And Oyster Sauce: A Seafood Symphony

I arrive right on 5pm: the calm before the storm. Get my trusty booth down the back. I skipped breakfast today and had Japanese for lunch (an exquisite, refined cuisine but not overly filling) so am famished. Chef walks past and says "hi" - I am practically part of the furniture these days. My second day of KC in a row. Returning to the scene of the crime as it were. My food arrives quickly. In Japan, many railway stations have an udon restaurant - usually a standing-only joint. The udon is pre-cooked, and reheats in about one minute. Broth is poured over and a topping, maybe a kakiage or some tempura. A meal ready in minutes: the ultimate fast food, and probably a little better for the waistline than Maccas.

 A tantalising tangle on the plate, studded with seafood. The menu does not specify exactly which delights of the deep it contains, but a quick inspection reveals fish cake, prawn, surimi and pineapple-cut squid. I sample each treasure and they are pleasantly tender, not overcooked rubber as seafood can often be. The udon is well-cooked, not soggy and seasoned with dark soy and, as the menu states, a hint of oyster sauce. The story behind oyster sauce (a relatively modern invention) is an interesting tale of a happy accident. In 1888 Lee Kum Sheung ran a tea stall that sold cooked oysters (how I wish we had one of those here). One day he lost track of the time and left them to simmer for too long (I did that with potatoes at cooking school once. Handy hint - they liquify!). He smelled a delightful aroma and lifted the lid. Inside, a thick brown sauce with a delicious umami taste. He founded the Lee Kum Kee brand to sell this new invention, which is now a major company, selling corn syrup-laden Chinese sauces worldwide. There are crunches of cabbage adding some much-needed greenery, and overall it is a gloopy, glorious, noodly ode to the ocean's (highly-processed) gifts.

Would I order this dish again? Yes, if I was all Mee Goreng'd out but had an overwhelming noodle-lust. Next up is Curry Laksa, then Mee Goreng. At this rate I am going to turn into a noodle!